Cruise promotional period off to solid start, travel agents say

Arlene Satchell, Sun Sentinel

As the cruise industry's "wave season" heats up, travel specialists say demand is strong and in some cases sales are ahead of this time last year.

That's good news after a year rife with negative publicity arising from a series of ship mishaps at sea, the worst stranding more than 4,000 people for days in the Gulf of Mexico under unpleasant and unsanitary conditions.

During the key promotional period running January through March, cruise operators typically offer their best deals and incentives to entice travelers to book voyages early.

"The wave season is off to a solid start when we compare it to the last four years," said Brad Tolkin, co-chairman/CEO of World Travel Holdings, which owns Fort Lauderdale-based cruise agency networks CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. "Cruise lines are offering extremely compelling promotions for our customers [and] these deals offer incredible value.''

In 2014, roughly 21.7 million travelers are forecast to cruise globally, the majority from North America, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. That's up from the estimated 21.3 million cruisers in 2013, the trade group said.

As cruise lines upgrade ships or add new ones to fleets, competition for consumers' travel dollars is ramping up this year, especially in the Caribbean where more vessels are being deployed.

Two new ships sailing from South Florida ports to the Caribbean this year are the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Getaway debuting in February at PortMiami and the 3,560-guest Regal Princess, which will be christened at Port Everglades in November.

The 4,345-guest MSC Divina, which launched in Europe in May 2012, also began sailing year-round from Miami to the Caribbean last November.

With capacity in the Caribbean at an all-time high in 2014, experts say this will translate to incredible deals for consumers.

"Competition will be fierce as new ships try to outdo each other and woo guests with new amenities, while older vessels will help fuel the rate war to keep occupancies at a premium," said Sherri Eisenberg, editor-in-chief of Bon Voyage digital magazine, published by New York-based Cruiseline.com, an online cruise guide.

For new ships, some of the best deals recently available included a 7-night cruise on MSC Divina starting at $429 per person with kids 11 and younger sailing free and a 7-day sailing on Norwegian Getaway from $649 per person, Eisenberg said. Regal Princess' seven-night sailings started from $749 per person.

Cruises to Alaska and Europe — especially European river cruises — are also hot destinations this year, said Michelle Fee, CEO and co-founder of Cruise Planners-American Express Travel in Coral Springs, which operates a network of more than 900 home-based travel agents.

"As far as deals and promotions, "wave season'' is the best time for consumers to buy — and using a trusted travel agent allows travelers to lock in the most value for their money," added Fee, noting that cruise purchases for the first 20 days of January were 17 percent ahead of last year.